CLEVELAND – It was just as short – but much, much sweeter – this time around for Eddie Alvarez.

The Philadelphia native needed just two minutes to record a TKO victory over of Shinya Aoki. It was a rematch of their December 2008 bout in which Aoki recorded a heel-hook submission win just 92 seconds into the DREAM bout.

“I had a good night tonight,” Alvarez told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) after the MTV2-televised fight. “It’s that simple. I went to Japan three years ago, and I fought Aoki for the first time. He got me. He got me that night. I wasn’t focused, and he was able to submit me pretty quickly. I just had a good night. That’s the way this sport goes. I think people look too far into fights.”

Since their first encounter, Alvarez and Aoki accumulated records of 7-1 and 11-2, respectively, mainly on opposite ends of the world. Nobody knew for sure if their paths would ever cross again.

“He could have easily said no to this rematch,” Alvarez said. “He beat me in about a minute and something. He could have said no, and it would have been justifiable, but he had the courage and the respect for me to give me the rematch.

“(Bellator CEO) Bjorn Rebney was able to go out there and get him on this promotion, on this big stage, and give me the opportunity to show my skills and get me some redemption from my mistake a while ago, so I’m happy about that.”

Alvarez controlled the action early while landing hard straight rights to the body and head. He was able to back up Aoki near the cage, where he faked with a right uppercut then followed with the same punch that immediately floored Aoki. Heavy ground and pound followed before referee Jerry Krzys halted the action.

Alvarez, who has one fight remaining on his current contract, looked over at Rebney during his post-fight interview with one request: “Show me the money.”

An amused Rebney stood cageside smiling and clapping as Alvarez addressed the crowd.

“I just could not be happier for this guy,” Rebney said. “It’s a big win. It reestablishes him as one of the greatest 155-pounders in the world. And he’s just an absolute class act. It’s been a pleasure working with him. I hope we are able to continue working with him for years to come.”

So does that mean Rebney will, in fact, be showing him the money?

“I don’t think he’s left me with a lot of choice, do you?” Rebney said. “I knew going into it that a win in this kind of fight would obviously do for Ed, what Ed wanted to do for Ed.

“Ultimately, and it sounds counterintuitive, but it was what I was hoping he would do, which was have a spectacular performance and reestablish himself. Ed was riding an incredible wave, and it has been awesome for this promotion since its very infancy.”

Alvarez was the season-one lightweight-tournament winner and held the title for two-and-a-half years before losing to Michael Chandler in November at Bellator 58 in a back-and-forth war widely recognized as one of the best fights of 2011.

Despite being vocal about wanting an immediate rematch, it was not granted to Alvarez. He was told he would have to go back into the next lightweight tournament to earn another shot at Chandler. Alvarez declined the invitation.

“I feel like I would have had no problem [entering the lightweight tournament] if I had the number of fights on my contract,” Alvarez said. “You know, I have a family. And just like everyone in here, I’m trying to get paid just like everyone else. So you can’t blame me for that.”

After appearing as if he was simply riding out the rest of his deal in order to move on, there may actually be light at the end of the tunnel for Alvarez and Bellator. But that remains to be seen.

After all, Alvarez is already a bit pricier than he was just a few short hours ago.

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